Burrillville Middle School
Burrillville
The SALT Visit Team Report
December 1, 2006
GRAPHIC: SALT Logo
School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT)
The school accountability program of the Rhode Island Department of Education
Rhode Island Board of Regents
for Elementary and Secondary Education
James A. DiPrete, Chairman
Patrick A. Guida, Vice Chairman
Colleen Callahan, Secretary
Amy Beretta
Robert Camara
Frank Caprio
Karin Forbes
Gary E. Grove
Maurice C. Paradis
Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Peter McWalters, Commissioner
The Board of Regents does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, or disability.
For information about SALT, please contact:
Rick Richards
(401) 222-8401
1. introduction 1
The Purpose and Limits of This Report 1
Sources of Evidence 2
Using the Report 2
2. PROFILE OF Burrillville Middle School 4
3. PORTRAIT OF Burrillville Middle School AT THE TIME OF THE VISIT 5
4. FINDINGS ON STUDENT LEARNing 6
Conclusions 6
Important Thematic Findings in Student Learning 8
5. FINDINGS ON Teaching for Learning 9
Conclusions 9
Commendations for Burrillville Middle School 11
Recommendations for Burrillville Middle School 11
Recommendations for Burrillville School Department 11
6. FINDINGS ON SCHOOL support for learning and teaching 12
Conclusions 12
Commendations for Burrillville Middle School 15
Recommendations for Burrillville Middle School 15
Recommendations for Burrillville School Department 15
7. Final Advice to BURRILLVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL 16
Endorsement of SALT Visit Team Report 17
How SALT visit reports are endorsed 17
The Endorsement Decision 18
report appendix 19
Sources of Evidence for This Report 19
State Assessment Results for Burrillville Middle School 20
The Burrillville Middle School Improvement Team 24
The Burrillville Middle School Improvement Team 25
Members of the SALT Visit Team 26
Code of Conduct for Members of Visit Team 27
Burrillville Middle School SALT Visit Team Report Page 20
1. introduction
The Purpose and Limits of This Report
This is the report of the SALT team that visited Burrillville Middle School from November 27 – December 1, 2006.
The SALT visit report makes every effort to provide your school with a valid, specific picture of how well your students are learning. The report also portrays how the teaching in your school affects learning and how the school supports learning and teaching. The purpose of developing this information is to help you make changes in teaching and the school that will improve the learning of your students. The report is valid because the team’s inquiry is governed by a protocol that is designed to make it possible for visit team members to make careful judgments using accurate evidence. The exercise of professional judgment makes the findings useful for school improvement because these judgments identify where the visit team thinks the school is doing well and where it is doing less well.
The major questions the team addressed were:
How well do students learn at Burrillville Middle School?
How well does the teaching at Burrillville Middle School affect learning?
How well does Burrillville Middle School support learning and teaching?
The following features of this visit are at the heart of the report:
Members of the visit team are primarily teachers and administrators from Rhode Island public schools. The majority of team members are teachers. The names and affiliations of the team members are listed at the end of the report.
The team sought to capture what makes this school work, or not work, as a public institution of learning. Each school is unique, and the team has tried to capture what makes Burrillville Middle School distinct.
The team did not compare this school to any other school.
When writing the report, the team deliberately chose words that it thought would best convey its message to the school, based on careful consideration of what it had learned about the school.
The team reached consensus on each conclusion, each recommendation and each commendation in this report.
The team made its judgment explicit.
This report reflects only the week in the life of the school that was observed and considered by this team. The report is not based on what the school plans to do in the future or on what it has done in the past.
The team closely followed a rigorous protocol of inquiry that is rooted in Practice-Based Inquiry®[1] (Catalpa Ltd.). The detailed Handbook for Chairs of the SALT School Visit, 2nd Edition describes the theoretical constructs behind the SALT visit and stipulates the many details of the visit procedures. The Handbook and other relevant documents are available at www.Catalpa.org. Contact Rick Richards at (401) 222-8401or for further information about the SALT visit protocol.
SALT visits undergo rigorous quality control. To gain the full advantages of a peer visiting system, RIDE did not participate in the editing of this SALT visit report. That was carried out by the team’s chair with the support of Catalpa. Ltd. Catalpa Ltd. monitors each visit and determines whether the report can be endorsed. Endorsement assures the reader that the team and the school followed the visit protocol. It also ensures that the conclusions and the report meet specified standards.
Sources of Evidence
The Sources of Evidence that this team used to support its conclusions are listed in the appendix.
The team spent a total of over 122.5 hours in direct classroom observation. Most of this time was spent observing complete lessons or classes. Almost every classroom was visited at least once, and almost every teacher was observed more than once. Team members had conversations with various teachers and staff for a total of 38.75 hours.
The full visit team built the conclusions, commendations and recommendations presented here through intense and thorough discussion. The team met for a total of 31.5 hours in team meetings spanning the five days of the visit. This time does not include the time the team spent in classrooms, with teachers, and in meetings with students, parents, and school and district administrators.
The team did agree by consensus that every conclusion in this report is:
Important enough to include in the report
Supported by the evidence the team gathered during the visit
Set in the present, and
Contains the judgment of the team
Using the Report
This report is designed to have value to all audiences concerned with how Burrillville Middle School can improve student learning. However, the most important audience is the school itself.
This report is a decisive component of the Rhode Island school accountability system. The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) expects that the school improvement team of this school will consider this report carefully and use it to review its current action plans and write new action plans based on the information it contains.
How your school improvement team reads and considers the report is the critical first step. RIDE will provide a SALT Fellow to lead a follow-up session with the School Improvement Team to help start the process. With support from the Burrillville School Department District School Improvement Coordinator and from SALT fellows, the school improvement team should carefully decide what changes it wants to make in learning, teaching and the school and how it can amend its School Improvement Plan to reflect these decisions.
The Burrillville School Department, RIDE and the public should consider what the report says or implies about how they can best support Burrillville Middle School as it works to strengthen its performance.
Any reader of this report should consider the report as a whole. A reader who only looks at recommendations misses important information.
2. PROFILE OF Burrillville Middle School
Burrillville Middle School is located in Burrillville, Rhode Island. This new facility, which houses students in grades six through eight, was opened in 1989. Burrillville Middle School replaced a former junior high school that had served the town since 1966. Prior to 1966, middle school students attended regional grammar schools.
Currently, 583 students attend this school. Of these, 96% are white, 2% Hispanic, 1% African-American, and 1% Asian. Twenty-two percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Eighteen percent of the students receive special education services.
Burrillville Middle School employs fifty full-time teaching staff. In addition to the general education staff, there are eight special educators, five unified arts teachers, three physical educators, two reading specialists, one nurse-teacher, one school psychologist, and one student assistance counselor. One speech pathologist works throughout the district and services students at this school. The Burrillville Police Department has assigned a school resource officer, who splits his time between the Middle School and Burrillville High School. The administrative team comprises a principal and an assistant principal.
A School Improvement Team helps lead and guide this school. This team comprises the principal and parent and faculty representatives. The team meets monthly to provide direction for school improvement efforts.
In addition to the academic curriculum, Burrillville Middle School offers an athletic program of nine teams under the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. The school also offers a weekly school-wide enrichment program encompassing a variety of activities that are open to all students. A band, wind ensemble, and chorus program are offered on an elective basis. The school also has a student government/leadership program called ‘Voices’ that meets weekly to engage students in school improvement initiatives.
Recent school-wide academic initiatives include a restructured literacy program employing two reading specialists to improve student-reading performance. A pilot team has been established to attempt to better meet the needs of students identified as being ‘at-risk.’ An after-school homework-tutoring program to help students who struggle to complete their homework is in its second year of operation.
After being designated for two years as a “School in Need of Improvement,” Burrillville Middle School is now identified by the Rhode Island Department of Education as a “High Performing and Commended” school. The school was also awarded a $60,000 Comprehensive School Reform grant in 2006.
3. PORTRAIT OF Burrillville Middle School AT THE TIME OF THE VISIT
A common theme echoed by administrators, faculty, and staff at Burrillville Middle School is, “If it’s not working; try something different.” This sentiment well captures the state of this dynamic, evolving, and emerging learning community. This sentiment is also evident in the budding excitement that resonates throughout this welcoming, bright, and well-maintained facility.
While students read, write, and problem solve with varying degrees of proficiency, most are filled with energy and excitement for learning. They enjoy coming to Burrillville Middle School and feel safe and supported by the caring and dedicated faculty and staff. They appreciate the many programs, supports, and new practices put in place for their betterment and learning. These include collaborative learning environments, exploratory, literacy, numeracy, and Spanish classes, the school-wide enrichment program, and co-curricular activities that allow them voice and opportunities for social and academic growth.
Called ‘risk-takers,’ most teachers are excited about the changes that are occurring at their school and look for continued progress and success. Most also work hard to design their lessons to help all students learn and achieve. While teachers vary in their effectiveness at teaching reading, writing, and problem solving, they recognize the need to improve their practice continually and look to do so through professional development and collaboration. The faculty is caring and dedicated and respects both their students and one another.
Much of the excitement, positive culture, and progress emanates from the strong administrative team that leads and guides this school. Together, the principal and assistant principal have established high expectations for a student success-centered school, and they work with the entire staff to develop this collaborative vision. The principal has made it her mission to provide the structures, resources, and training the staff needs to meet the needs of students. The assistant principal supports this work while ensuring an orderly atmosphere for learning.
When asked what they need to continue their progress, members of this learning community clearly articulate their ongoing challenges. They recognize the need for more consistent and effective instruction. They ask for more professional development and further opportunities to collaborate. They ask for more resources and technology to support their teaching and student learning. Most consistently, they ask for time and continued support to implement and improve the many ongoing and new initiatives designed to provide a quality education for all students.
4. FINDINGS ON STUDENT LEARNing
Conclusions
Students at this school write at various levels of competency. Some write quite well. These students clearly organize and communicate their ideas through writing. They use individual voice and proper writing conventions and mechanics. They use the writing process to improve their written work including drafting, editing, and revising. Many other students understand the structure of good writing, but they do not consistently use that knowledge to write well. These students often write with minimal effort, planning, or thought. Their writing typically shows incomplete or undeveloped ideas. It lacks flow, organization, and/or the proper usage of conventions and mechanics. Some other students write at a very basic level. They write incomplete sentences that have little or no detail, and they struggle to develop coherent ideas. These students show limited knowledge of the proper writing conventions and mechanics. Though NECAP writing scores show 57% of students are at or above the proficient level and most students perceive their writing as equally high, the review and analysis of student work samples does not consistently support this assessment of quality. (following students, observing classes, talking with students and teachers, reviewing completed and ongoing student work, discussing student work with teachers, reviewing classroom assessments, reviewing NECAP assessment results, reviewing school and district report cards)
Many students read well and in all content areas. This is supported by the recent scores on the NECAP reading assessment in which 64% of students read at or above the proficient level. They read fluently, understand what they read, and apply what they learn from their reading. They effectively use reading strategies such as analyzing text structure, using graphic organizers and context clues, and highlighting and color coding text. These students say that they enjoy reading, read often and for pleasure, and read a variety of texts. In addition, some of these good readers are highly skilled and effectively predict, interpret, and analyze. However, some students do not read as well. They struggle to decode words, have gaps in their vocabulary, and often lack basic reading skills. This leads them to have difficulty understanding what they read. While they are taught reading strategies, they either do not use them or do not understand how to use them independently. As a result, these students become frustrated with reading and often avoid reading due to their lack of success. (following students, observing classes, observing the school outside of the classroom, meeting with students and parents, talking with students and teachers, reviewing completed and ongoing student work, discussing student work with teachers, reviewing classroom assessments, reviewing classroom textbooks, reviewing NECAP assessment results, reviewing school and district report cards)